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I am currently on vacation in Salisbury, England and in a town like this, it is certainly easy to feel overwhelmed photographically speaking. The Salisbury Cathedral is certainly the most iconic object to make pictures of, and therein lies the challenge.

How do you find a way to take a photograph of something that has been photographed many times before, and be original (instead of just saving money on postcards)?

I think the answer lies in looking for a detail, perhaps even macro images. Each detail holds a story, waiting to be explored and communicated

Since 1977, when I took today’s picture of a close-up of iris petals, I have moved about 6 times, and sadly I have lost the original slide. This is one of my favourite pictures, but all I have left is a slightly damaged Cibachrome print I made of it in the early 1980’s. I have always been somewhat disorganized when it comes to slides, negatives, etc. and this time it bit me!

An object lesson to take care of ones pictures, whether analog or digital.

It has been some time since I was seriously into photography, and in that time, I have become involved a lot in social media, and it has had an interesting effect on my images. I am an introvert by nature, and in the past, taking pictures of people I didn’t know was difficult. Since getting into social media however, it’s been easier for me to meet new people, and now taking pictures of people I don’t know is getting easier.

A few weeks ago, along with my daughters I was involved in a video shoot for local Ontario singer/songwriter Andrea Gauster. I was playing a photographer in the video, and also took the chance to take a lot of pictures of the video shoot. While in position, waiting for the camera to roll, I saw another cast member perfectly posed, in great diffused light, so I went up and asked to take a picture (seen below).

I’m having fun working on one project right now, a lo-fi iPhone project capturing the experience of my daily commute to and from work on the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission). I go the work early, and am normally on the subway by about 6:20 a.m. At that time of day, one does not see the rich latte drinkers, or other privileged classes of Toronto that for so many people form their only impression of the city. One sees the working class, an awful lot of diversity, and often, sheer fatigue, which I tried to capture in the photo below, taken with the iPhone 3GS camera, then given a vintage, lo-fi effect which I feel was ideally suited for the mood.